Probably for most of us, we were children when someone first asked us if we wanted to hear a dirty joke. And once we heard the joke, we knew why it was called a dirty joke, because it somehow made us feel dirty on our inside. Yet for many like myself, before I came to Christ, I had noticed a little conflict: part of me wanted to hear it, but the other part felt dirty.

In fact, I vaguely remember the trick side of these jokes where someone asked, “Hey, do you want to hear a dirty joke?” After I approved by simply pausing and not saying “no.” my friend proceeded to say, “the pig fell in the mud.” I remember laughing about that, but then there was that small tinge of disappointment that it was not a real dirty joke.

While I knew that we had a conscience, it was still a bit of mystery as to why part of me wanted to hear dirty jokes and the other part did not.

Of course, it was not until I committed my life to Christ that I understood what was happening. Just like pain warns us something wrong happened to our body, feeling dirty warns us that something wrong has happened to our spirit.

So, in one respect, if we feel dirtied at times, that is good in part for it means that our conscience is still tender. We need to keep our conscience tender. If we are truly saved, we will want to flee from the dirty jokes, talk, jesters, thinking and more.

Nonetheless, something happens outside of our control that exposes us to that which makes us feel, or should make us feel, dirty on the inside.

Most people that use email and the Internet know very well some type of filth, or something that is less than good, will come across their path. Or, things happen in the workplace, school, with friends or relatives, and sometimes – sad to say – even in church that would make us feel dirty.

Though we have not even participated, we feel dirty. What can we do?

Jesus said in John 13:10 (KJV21), “He that is washed needeth not but to wash his feet...”

Essentially, if one has been truly born-again, they have been washed. But what happens is that as we sojourn in this world, various influences will cause us to get dirtied.

When this occurs, we should go to our Shepherd Who will lovingly clean us. We should go to Him in prayer, and in also reading and meditating upon His Word. In Ephesians 5:26 we see how God desires to cleanse us, the Church, the body of Christ: “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.”

If one does not personally know Christ, praying and resorting to His Word will still be a benefit to one's dirtied spirit. But the best thing to do is to let Him bathe you, by committing your all to Him.